Cher and Allman released a widely panned duets album under the name 'Allman and Woman'

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Allman suffered from hepatitis C which severely damaged his liver

His relationship with Cher was rocky, with the Believe singer having requested a divorce from Nashville-born Allman just nine days after their Las Vegas wedding.

The divorce was dismissed a month later, with the pair going on to perform together and have a child, Elijah Blue.

They eventually separated in 1977.

Allman had been known for his long blond hair and was raised in Florida by a single mother after his father was shot to death by a man he had met in a bar.

Allman idolised his older brother, Duane, eventually forming The Allman Brothers Band in 1969.

Songs such as "Whipping Post," ''Ramblin' Man" and "Midnight Rider," helped define what came to be known as Southern rock and opened the doors for such stars as Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Marshall Tucker Band.

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Based in Macon, Georgia, the group featured Betts, drummers Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson and Butch Trucks and bassist Berry Oakley.

They partied to excess while defining a sound that still excites millions.

Their self-titled debut album came out in 1969, but it was their seminal live album "At Fillmore East" in 1971 that catapulted the band to stardom.

Duane Allman had quickly ascended to the pantheon of guitar heroes, not just from his contributions to the Allman band, but from his session work with Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett and with Eric Clapton on the classic "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs" album.

But he was killed in a motorcycle accident in October 1971, just months after recording the Fillmore shows. Another motorcycle accident the following year claimed bass player Oakley's life.

Gregg Allman performs 'Whipping Post' from the Album Back to Macon, GA live in 2015

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Allman and Cher had one child together

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Allman had been forced to cancel his 2017 shows

The Allman Brothers Band split up in the 1980s and then re-formed several times over the years.

In 1995, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and won a Grammy Award for best rock instrumental performance for "Jessica" the following year.

In his memoir, Allman said he spent years overindulging in women, drugs and alcohol before getting sober in the mid-1990s. He said that after getting sober, he felt "brand new" at the age of 50.

"I never believed in God until this," he said in an interview with The Associated Press in 1998.

"I asked him to bring me out of this or let me die before all the innings have been played. Now I have started taking on some spiritualism."

However, after all the years of unhealthy living he ended up with hepatitis C which severely damaged his liver. He underwent a liver transplant in 2010.

After the surgery, he turned music to help him recover and released his first solo album in 14 years "Low Country Blues" in 2011.

"I think it's because you're doing something you love," Allman said in a 2011 interview with The Associated Press. "I think it just creates a diversion from the pain itself. You've been swallowed up by something you love, you know, and you're just totally engulfed."